Foot operated press



y 19,,1942- F. A. HEIDENFELDYER' 2,283,553

FOOT OPERATED PRESS Filed'April 15, 1 938 I 2 Sheets-Sheet l Alf/ IIII!!! n Illllllllllllli I INVENTOR F R E D A. HEIDENFELDER M FIGJ-l M -ATTO May 19, 1942.

F. A. HEVIDENFELDER 2,283,553

FOOT OPERATED PRESS Filed April 15, 1938 2 Shets-Shaet? 7 F. E mm N mm m m n W A I Patented May 19, 1942 STATES FOOT OPERATED PRESS Fred A. Heidenfelder, Chicago, Ill., assignor to The American Laundry Machinery Company,

Norwoo'd, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application April 15, 1938, Serial No. 202,250

8 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in pressing machines and more particularly to a machine for use in pressing or ironing garments and laundered articles.

An object of the present invention is to provide a novel pressing machine wherein both head and bed members are movable using such force as the operator can exert. A feature of my present invention is the provision of structure enabling the operator to exert a very powerful pressure during a pressing operation with no more than ordinary exertion. V

One of the features of my present invention is the provision of a pressing head movable to pressing position where it'is held against retrograde movement while thereafter a pressing bed is moved vertically against the head with a very powerful leverage.

Among other novel features of my invention are the provision of a pressing head held in pressd ing position by a strut engaging the press frame.

while the bed is moved upwardly by a multiple leverage actuated from a treadle located in the lower portion of the frame.

My improved pressing machine shows a pressing bed which is raised into engagement with the head by means of a bell crank lever. giving a powerful multiplication of the operators eifort combined with a cam connection between this lever. and a treadle giving a further mechanical ad- 0;"

vantage.

My improved pressing machine also provides novel means for adjusting the'relationship between the treadle and the pressing bed to compensate for variations in pressing conditions.

Other novel features of my invention will ap-' o pear in the accompanying drawings and specification and the essential features will be set forth in the claims.

In the drawings, Fig. l is an end elevation of a pressing machine embodying my invention,'

certain of the parts being broken away to more clearly disclose the structure, the open position of the press parts being shown in full lines and the safe-closed position of the press being shown in dot-dash lines; Fig. 2. is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing the press closed position of the parts;

I tion over the shoulders 24a when the head is Ill. The bed is here shown as mounted in a ulation of the head lever and its associated pressing head. A spring 20 is connected between the rear end of the head lever and the frame to bias the head in open position. Pivotally mounted on the rear end of the head lever by an adjustable clevis 2| is a latch dog which may be of any suitable form and in the drawings is illustratedin the form of a strut 22. This strut is bifurcated at itsl-ower end where it carries a pin .23 which rides along a pair of abutments 24 at the rear of the frame as the press is opened and closed. When the head is moved to the pressing position shown in dot-dash lines in Fig. l and in full lines in Fig. 2, the pin 23 rests on the shoulders 24a of the abutments 24 sothat the strut is engaged between the frame and the rear end of the head lever to firmly hold the head against retrograde movement. It will be noted that the spring 20 at its upper end is secured to the projection Zia, of theclevis ZI so as to be eccentric of a line between pivot point 25 where the strut is connected to the head lever and the point 26 which is the lower end of spring 20. It results from this construction that spring 20' normally exerts a turning'moment in a counterclockwise direction on the strut 22 so as to urge the pin 23 into posimoved to pressing position. A snubber 21 cushions the movementof the head lever in each direction.

'The means for raising the bed into pressure engagement with the head comprises a powerful ball Fig. 3 is a rear view of the mechanisrnof Fig. 2;

4' is a detail sectional view on the line 4- 1 of Fig. 2; while Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view along the line 5-5 of Fig. 2.

I have shown my invention as applied to a pressing machine having a frame It adapted to support a pressing bed I I waist high to an operator standing on the floor supporting the frame to crank lever indicated generally at 28 and comprising an upper portion 28a pivoted to the frame at 29 at approximately the level, or at least very slightl below the level, of the ordinary work table (not shown) with which these presses are usually equipped, and a lower portion 28b pivoted to the upper portion at 3!). Movement between these two portions is limited by an adjusting screw 3| by which one is enabled to adjust the normal position of the bed I I and to compensate for changes in the padding of the pressingmembers. The lever portion 280. provides a very short substantially horizontal lever arm between the pivot 29 and the point 32 where the lever portion 28a engages the pressure pin I5. The lever 28 provides a very long arm extending downwardly from the point 29 to a point near the floor where the lever is in operative engagement with a treadle 33. I am thus enabled to make very efficient use of the vertical dimension of the press frame between the bed and the fioor so as to provide a mechanical advantage in the lever 28 of the order of ten or fifteen to one. The treadle 33 is pivoted at 34 in the lower rear portion of the frame. Between this treadle and lever 28 I provide a cam and follower connection. As shown this comprises a follower 35 carried by treadle 33 and engaging in a cam slot 36 in the lower end of the lever portion 281). It will be noted that the mechanical advantage of the treadle itself is of the nature of two to one and I provide a curved cam slot 36 arranged in such a. fashion as to give an. increasing mechanical advantage as the press closes. It results from this construction that I have the lever advantage of lever 28 and of treadle 3,3, and the inclined plane advantage of the cam and follower connection 35-36. This results in. a total multiplication of the operators effort between, the point 33a at the forward end of thetreadle and the final point of application at the pressing bed of thirty to fifty times. Means is provided to bias the treadle upwardly comprising a cylinder 31 connected to the frame and an abutment 33 connected to the treadle at pin 39, together withra spring 40 engaging between the lower end of cylinder 31 and the abutment 3,8.

The cylinder 3'! may have a leak port 31a through the cylinder head which is controlled by a threaded member or needle valve 311). This device will supply a snubbing action as treadle 33 moves upwardly.

depressed position to hold the press closed. This comprises a latch 4! having a hook 42 adapted to engage over an extending portion of pin 39 when the press is closed as shownin Fig. 2. A spring 33 biases the. latch toward latching position. Stops 44 and 45 limit the movement of the latch in opposite directions. A resilient cushion 46 limits the lower motion of the treadle 33.

Means is provided to disengage the strut 22 from the shoulders 24a when the press is opened. In the form shown this comprises a rod 4'! connected between the latch hook 42 and a lever 48 pivoted to the rear portion of the frame at 49 intermediate its ends. The upper end of this lever at 43a is adapted to engage the pin 23 to move the strut 22 from the full line position to the dot-dash position of Fig. 2 when it is desired to open the press.

Means may be provided to give the treadle 33 an initial kick-up after it is unlatched. This is hardly necessary in normal operation because the pressure action between the head and bed will assist in opening the press. But if treadle 33 is latched down before the head is in locked position, the treadle 33- tends to stick in its lower.

position. Therefore, on latch 4| "I provide a rearward extension 50, which carriesa lateral branch 53a adapted to underlie treadle 33 in its lower position. -When the latch release pedal 4| is depressed to free latch 42, the arm 50 gives treadle 33 an initial kick upward and starts roller 35 over the hump of the cam. The branch 50c lies far enough below treadle 33 so that when the release pedal is. depressed the latch 42 is free before the branch 50a becomes effective to produce the kick-up action.

Means may be provided to silence the movement of pin 23 over the shoulders 24a and against the frame. This means comprises rubber cushions 5! fastened to the webs of the vertical channels at therear of the frame by plates 52 which are suitably secured to the channels. The rubber cushions extend beyond plates 52 in a manner to engage the ends of pin 23 as it moves upwardly along abutments 24 and then inwardly over shoulders 25a and against the frame.

The operation of the, pressing machine will now be evident. With the parts in the full line position of Fig. l, the operator, arranges the work on the bed ll, then moves the head to the dot-dash position of Fig. l by means of the handle 19. Upon reaching this safe-closed position, the strut 22 engages the shoulders 24a in the full line position of Fig. 2 so as to hold the head against upward movement. The operator then depresses treadle 33, which through the powerful multiplying leverage described, exerts a pressure on pin 15 and raises thebed ll into pressure engagement with the head. Upon depression of the treadle the pin 39 rides along the inclined face of latch hook 42 finally engaging beneath the latch so that the press remains closed as long as desired. To open the press latch 4! is moved in a clockwise direc tion releasing pin 39 from Ythelatch and atthe,

same time producing a counterclockwise movement of lever 48 which moves pin 23 rearwardly off the abutments 24a'permitting the head to be opened by spring 211. There is sufficient play between the lever portion 48a and the pin 23 in the full line position of Fig. 2 so that pin 39 is released from the latch before the strut is removed from the frame abutments.

There is no possibility of the operator exerting a powerful pressure between the bed and head so as to injure her fingers between them because, until the head reaches the safe-closed position indicated in dot-dash. lines in Fig. 1, the member 22 is. not, in strut-forming position to hold the head even though pressure should be exerted on the treadle' -WhatI claim is: e

1. In a pressing machine, a frame, a. bed

mounted for vertical movement in said frame,

a head movable into and out of pressing position over said bed, a head holding latch do adapted to be engaged between said frame and said head when the latter is in pressing position,

a lever pivoted in said frame and having a short 'arm operativelyengaging said bed to raise the latter into pressure engagement with said head, said lever having a long arm extending downwardly, and a foot treadle operatively connected with said long arm so as, to .raise said bed by depression of said treadle.

2. In a pressing machine, a frame having an abutment, a bed mounted for vertical movement in said frame, a head lever pivotally mounted intermediate its ends in said frame, a head carried by the forward end of said lever and movable by lever oscillation into and out of pressing position over said bed, a latch dog pivotally connected with the rear end of said lever and adapted when said head, is in, pressing position to engage the frame abutment to hold said head against retrograde movement, a tension spring connected between said latch dog and the lower portion of said frame to move said head out of pressing relation with said bed, said spring conneotion with said dog being so arranged that it urges said dog toward engagement with said abutment, and means for causing pressure engagement of said bed against said head when the latter is in pressing position.

3. In a pressing machine, a frame, a bed mounted for vertical movement in said frame, a head movable into and out of pressing position over said bedfa head holding latch dog adapted to be engaged between said frame and said head when the latter is inpressing position, a lever pivoted in said frame and having a short arm operatively engaging said bed to raise the latter into pressure engagement with said head, said lever having a long arm'extending downwardly, a treadle operatively connected with said long arm so as to raise said bed by depression of said treadle, means for locking said treadle down to hold said press closed, and means for sequentially first releasing said treadle and then releasing said dog'from engagement with said frame.

4. In a pressing machine, a frame having an abutment, a bed mounted for vertical movement in said frame, a head lever pivotally mounted intermediate its ends in said frame, a head carried by the forward end of said lever and movable by lever oscillation into and out of pressing position over said bed, a latch dog pivotally connected with the rear end of said lever and adapted when said head registers with said bed to engage the frame abutment to hold said head against retrograde movement, a tension spring connected between said dog and the lower portion of said frame to move said head out of registration with said bed, said spring connection with said dog being so arranged that it urges said dog toward engagement with said abutment, a treadle for raising said bed into pressure engagement with said head, latch means for holding said treadle depressed, and means actuated by release of said latch for releasin said dog from said abutment.

5. In a pressing machine, a frame, a bed mounted for vertical movement in said frame, a head movable into and out of pressing position over said bed, means for holding said head in such position, a bell crank lever pivoted in said frame and having a short laterally extending arm operatively engaging said bed to raise the latter into pressure engagement with said head, said bell crank lever having a long arm extending downwardly, a treadle operatively connected with said long arm so as to raise said bed by depression of said treadle, said long arm comprising two parts pivotally connected, and

means for relatively adjusting said two parts to compensate for varying pressure conditions between saidbed and head. I

6. In a pressing machine, a frame having an abutment, a bed mounted for vertical movement in said frame, a head lever pivotally mounted intermediate its ends in said frame, a head carried by the'forward end of said lever and movable by lever oscillation into and out of pressing position over said bed, a pivoted latch dog operatively connected with the rear end of said lever and adapted when said head reaches pressing position to engage the frame abutment to hold said head against retrograde movement, means urging said dog into engagement with said abutment, and means for causing pressure engagement of said bed against said head when the latter is in pressing osition.

7. In a pressing machine, a frame having an abutment, a bed mounted for vertical movement in said frame, a head lever pivotally mounted intermediate its ends in said frame, a head carried by the forward end of said lever and movable by lever oscillation into and out of pressing position over said bed, a pivoted latch dog operatively connected with the rear end of said lever and adapted when said head reaches pressin position to engage the frame abutment to hold said head against retrograde movement, treadle operated means for raisingsaid bed into pressure engagement with said head when the latter is in pressing position, means for locking said treadle in bed-raised position, and means for sequentially' first releasing said treadle and then releasing said dog from engagement with said abutment. p

8. In a pressing machine, a frame, a bed mounted for vertical movement in said frame,

a head movable into and outof pressing, position over said bed, a head holding latch do adapted to be engagedbetween said frame and normally tending to movesaid lever in the opposite direction, and means for sequentially releasing said first named means to the action of said spring means and then releasing said dog from engagement with said abutment.

FRED A. I-IEIDENFELDER. 

